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Monday, December 10, 2012

Detroit Police Asks Students to Name New Horse

It's not too late choose a name - the deadline is December 20th! I hope "Number 15" gets a new cool name! ~Declan

Names may be submitted by phone by calling the Detroit Police Office of Public Information at (313) 596-2200; by email: pubinfo@detroitmi.gov; by facsimile: (313) 596-1450; or via mail, care of The Office Public Information, 1300 Beaubien, Room 203, Detroit MI 48226."Kids can also submit names through Facebook," Eide said. Names may be submitted through the Facebook pages of either the Mounted Unit or Detroit Police Department.

November 20, 2012 at 2:35 pmDetroit police asks students to name new horse
As posted on The Detroit News

Detroit Police Department Mounted Unit Sgt. Erik Eide trains police horse "“Number 15" which was donated to the department by Denise Lutz. The Detroit police is asking students to help name the new horse. )

Detroit — Wynn, Elmo, Baby, Tiny have a companion with no name, and police are asking Detroit Public Schools students for help.

The Detroit Police Mounted Unit's latest addition is a chestnut Selle Francais gelding formerly named Korus. The animal was donated in May 2011, by Denise Lutz, wife of retired automotive executive Bob Lutz, both of whom were instrumental in resurrecting the unit after it was disbanded in 2005 for budgetary reasons.

Normally, when horses join the Mounted Unit, they're stripped of their names and assigned numbers. The unit's fifth horse was given No. 15 while it underwent training to determine if it would make a good police horse.

Now that No. 15 has passed its rigorous training regimen, Detroit Police have launched a contest asking students to come up with a permanent name for the animal.

Naming a horse is usually an honor bestowed to the first officer it's assigned to after training, but police officials decided to let students in on the tradition, said Sgt. Erik Eide, head of the Mounted Unit.

"It's a chance to get the kids involved, and to let them see a different side to police officers," Eide said. "We've been working on this contest for some time, and we thought now would be a good time to kick off the contest, with our horses in the Thanksgiving Parade."

The student who picks the winning name will be invited to the Mounted Unit's barn on the city's east side for the naming ceremony.

"The ceremony will include placing the new name plate over the horse's stall," Detroit Police Sgt. Eren Stephens said in a written statement.

The mounted unit was closed seven years ago for budgetary reasons. It reopened in June 2009, thanks to donations from the Detroit Public Safety Foundation and Restore the Horse, private groups of philanthropists and horse lovers who pay for the training and upkeep of Wynn, Elmo, Baby, Tiny and No. 15.

The Detroit Mounted Unit was established in 1893. At its peak in the late 1970s, the unit had five barns, 80 officers and more than 60 horses.

Mounted units are still considered vital for crowd control, as well as public relations.

"We were at Comerica Park when the Tigers clinched the ALDS (against the Oakland A's); and we were down there when the Giants clinched the World Series," Eide said.

The deadline for name submissions is Dec. 20. Names may be submitted by phone by calling the Detroit Police Office of Public Information at (313) 596-2200; by email: pubinfo@detroitmi.gov; by facsimile: (313) 596-1450; or via mail, care of The Office Public Information, 1300 Beaubien, Room 203, Detroit MI 48226.

"Kids can also submit names through Facebook," Eide said. Names may be submitted through the Facebook pages of either the Mounted Unit or Detroit Police Department.

"Hopefully, this contest will get the public involved in what we do — and hopefully make a special memory for some kid," Eide said.

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SAFE Act

The Safeguard American Food Exports "SAFE" H.R.1942 is the current bill proposed in the House and Senate to protect American horses from slaughter. PLEASE contact your legisltors and ask the to cosponsor and support SAFE.

Children 4 Horses is on Facebook

Declan Bio

Declan is honored to be the 2012 ASPCA's Humane Kid of the Year and the first ever recipient of the ASPCA Junior Equine Angel Award. Declan is also an ASPCA Junior Equine Welfare Ambassador.

After hearing about the inhumane and cruel practice of horse slaughter, now ten-year-old Declan, decided he needed to raise his voice. He created Children 4 Horses, to spread the word about horse advocacy issues and worked diligently with the Million Horse March campaign to collect letters from children to inspire lawmakers to end the slaughter of American horses.

Declan’s dedication to horse advocacy brought him to the nation’s capital twice, where he represented over 1,000 children from the United States by presenting the letters to legislators in Congress. While in Washington DC, Declan met with Congressman Frank Guinta of New Hampshire, where he shared his opposition to the inhumane treatment of horses and subsequently garnered the Congressman’s co-sponsorship of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (S.1176/H.R.2966).

Declan also joined forces with the “Horses on the Hill” campaign, speaking before celebrities, Congressmen and Senators to lobby against horse slaughter and advocate for the protection of horses under S.1176/H.R.2966. In addition to his three Washington DC visits, Declan testified at a hearing for a bill opposing horse slaughter at the New Hampshire State House in January, 2012.